Catholic Company Review: The Queen and the Cross

The Queen and the Cross: The Story of Saint Helen beautifully weaves together fact and legend to tell the story of St. Helen and her quest to find the real Cross of Jesus.  When I saw this book on The Catholic Company's review list I immediately thought of my daughter (who will be six in January) and now that I've read it I can't wait to share it with her.  It is definitely perfect for the K-1-2 group.  The story is told in a simple way without sounding like it is "talking down" to its readers and the illustrations are just beautiful.  I love how St. Helen is portrayed.  I also really appreciated the fact that this book was hardback.  Gemma will be getting her own room here in a year or two and this book will definitely be on her bookshelf to share together or read on her own!  I like the idea of sharing good saint biographies with our children and instilling in them a love for and knowledge of the saints and their place in the Church from an early age, and books like this that focus on the story of one particular saint are a great way to do this.  This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Queen and the Cross-The Story of St. Helen. The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.

Catholic Company Review: The New Evangelization and You - Be Not Afraid

What is The New Evangelization?  Had I been asked this question six months ago I probably would have ambled around, wordily grasping for an answer.  Sure I'd heard of it, and kind of knew what it was, but after reading The New Evangelization and You: Be Not Afraid by Greg Willits, founder of The Rosary Army, I feel like I can clearly and succinctly answer that it is knowing, living and sharing my Faith in a way that is relevant to today's culture and society.  The message isn't new, it's the same 'ole Good News of Jesus Christ that has been preached now for over 2000 years now, but it is delivered in a way that speaks to people today...whether that's people who have never before heard the Good News of Jesus, people who have heard the Good News but have maybe gone astray, and all fellow Christians on the road to Heaven.

This book was very reader-friendly, and made clear early on that one does not need to be a theologian or Biblical scholar to be a 'new evangelizer' (whew!).  

My favorite part of the book was chapters nine and ten (towards the end), that talked about Twenty-First Century Fishing Tips (think Fishers of Men x 2000 years) and gave 52 practical ways (one for each week of the year) to 1. Know, 2. Live, and 3. Share your Faith (yes, there were three lists, so 156 items in all!!).  I actually sat down with my calendar and jotted down one item from each list for the next 6 weeks or so to spur me on the road to New Evangelization.  But then, I am kind of a list person anyways...

The other thing I really liked about this book was at the end of each chapter (there are 11 chapters in all) were some questions for reflection and a prayer.  The prayers were very well written, I could definitely see revisiting them in future prayer-time.  This book was great to read on my own, but would be a wonderful discussion book for a Catholic Book Club or study.  It was something that, given the time, could have easily been read in 1-2 sittings.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The New Evangelization and You. The Catholic Company is a great resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.

Catholic Company Review: St. Francis of Assisi A Biography

St. Francis of Assisi: A Biography (Revised) by Omer Englebert  took me a long time to read.  This book was good.  It was not my usual fare (which is probably part of the reason it took me so long), and only the third (I believe) biography/autobiography of a saint that I have read (the others being The Story of A Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese, St. Monica and her son Augustine, and another relatively short biography of St. Monica).  I have read lots of stories about saints here and there, some a paragraph long, some several pages or chapters, but if you ask me to tell you something about any given Catholic saint, a few facts is the best I can do.  Maybe.  After reading this biography I truly feel like I knew St. Francis.  I may not be able to parse about him for hours on end, and there were a lot of names and dates and places that I found difficult to keep straight, but this was namely due to the fact that I didn't have uninterrupted stretches to read and study this book.  That said, I did get a lot out of it, I'm glad I read it, and I'm glad it was a review copy because I think it kept me honest and helped me to actually persevere to the end. 

As was alluded to on the first page of the introduction, many people love St. Francis...even non-Catholics.  He has a universal appeal that at times people try to "remake in their own image" (direct quote).  This book made me appreciate even more this appeal, but on a much deeper level than those who, through honest ignorance or misguided devotion, reduce Francis to an animal-loving, tree-hugging social worker. 

I am not going to give another biography as part of my review, but simply note the things that struck me most while reading his life:

• His undying love for "lady poverty".  The poverty to which Francis and his brothers espoused themselves was inspirational yet hard for me to even begin to fathom.  A truly beautiful thing.  It definitely gave me pause as I looked at my own life and all my...things. 
• It is hard for me to contemplate getting anything done without a computer, or email or telephone, not to mention electricity and all the other modern communication conveniences of this day.  I marveled over the saint's travels, whether they were to preach, care for the sick, or the process of seeking approval for his order from Rome.   The fact that, during his travels, he would often run into others from his order without texting or tweeting their locations amazed me as well, considering these were travels from Italy to France to Morocco and everywhere in between.  It was an interesting glimpse back in time.
• Along this vein, I found it fascinating reading about the process of beginning a religious order, and all that involves.  Francis not only worked to reform the Church from clericalism and other issues of the day, but he had his share of reformation to do within his order as it grew as well.   I was also slightly amused at some of the "back-and-forth" between the Franciscans and Dominicans.
• Reading of his many, oftentimes strenuous travels and the number of lives he touched while he was living was very interesting.  He was truly a man for others, and loved as a saint even before his death.
• His willingness to and preference - even love - for suffering was striking.  I wish I could suffer with a fraction of the grace with which he suffered.

This book was a very detailed account of the life of St. Francis.  I will never remember half of what I read, I'm quite certain; but I am also certain that I have a much deeper respect and love for this saint of saints after reading his life.  And reading this has definitely given me more of a desire to continue reading the lives of the saints.  My uncle, when discussing this book with him via email, mentioned that there is no better reading than the true, authentic biographies of the saints.  It takes more brain-power than a "fluff" novel, or even many other religious books, but it is definitely worth the effort.  I can say with certainty that I will be looking for another saint biography to begin sometime in the near future (and am definitely open for recommendations).

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on St. Francis of Assisi: A Biography (Revised). The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.

Catholic Company Review: Navigating the Interior Life

I recently received a Catholic Company review copy of Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God by by Daniel Burke (of RCSpiritualDirection) with Fr. John Bartunet, LC, STL.  As per the back cover, this book aims to answer various questions about spiritual direction...What is it?  Is it for me?  How do I find a spiritual director?  It gives a clear map for understanding the general direction of one's soul, working with a spiritual guide on this journey, and growing in peace and holiness. 

I have been blessed with the opportunity for regular spiritual direction from a local diocesan priest for the past three years, but was still intrigued by the description of this book, and am glad I read it.  The first half or so of the book deals with knowing whether one is in need of or ready for spiritual direction and how to find and approach a spiritual director.  These very detailed chapters helped me to reflect on God's hand in my journey to and through spiritual direction, and gave me a great sense of gratitude that the opportunity for spiritual direction came about for me when I wasn't even really actively looking for it.  God is so good.  Were I not currently seeing a spiritual director, I would have found these chapters immensely helpful in getting the ball rolling. 

The latter half of the book dealt more with the interior life, the trajectory of one's soul, and the three ways.  It started with a survey of sorts helping one to identify his or her root sin, providing ample opportunity for prayer and introspection.  I found it helpful to read and pray through this part before the Blessed Sacrament and the peace and silence He provides.  This book also quotes and speaks extensively about St. Teresa of Avila, namely The Interior Castle.  I actually brought the book to a recent meeting with my spiritual director, and really found it helpful to discuss some of the (more overwhelming, in my opinion) aspects of the interior life with him.  He was able to help me apply what the book said to my current state of life as wife and mommy of three young children better than I would have been able to just reading it on my own.  If you are interested in this book, I would definitely recommend reading the first half on your own, and the second half with some sort of direction. 

The last section of the book provided an in-depth glossary of terms in regards to spiritual direction and the interior life, plus appendices containing information about schools of spiritual direction (for those wishing to become spiritual directors...in fact my SD even commented that there were some great sections in this book on how to be a spiritual director!), and christian meditation, plus detailed end-notes referenced throughout the text.

I liked this quote from the last page, and think it sums up the entire book quite well. "In the end, this book is about acquiring self-knowledge in the context of God.  With that knowledge we know where we are, we know where the life-giving water is, and we have some sense of how to get at it."

BOTTOM LINE, if you are interested in learning more about authentic Catholic Spiritual Direction or looking for a spiritual director, this book (along with the author's website) is a great resource I would definitely recommend.  And as for spiritual direction in general, I highly recommend it.  Regular (every 4-6 weeks) spiritual direction and confession have brought some much-needed peace and clarity to my some often-times crazy life/vocation.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Navigating the Interior Life. The Catholic Company is a great resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special Papal Year of Faith.

Catholic Company Review: My First Book of Saints

I recently joined The Catholic Company's blogger review program.  My first request was My First Book of Saints, as I had seen it on a friend's blog and was very intrigued.  I have looked for years for a saint book suitable for toddlers and preschoolers.  My Golden Book of Saints was the closest thing I could find, but it isn't very comprehensive, and while we have a whole stack of various children's saint books that I do like a lot, most of them are geared more towards the K-2 crowd.  This book is just what I was looking for.  It contains stories of about 60 various saints that span from the time of Christ to the 20th Century and everything in between (it's a very nice variety and balance of new and old, really).  The book is hardcover, about 5x7 inches and each saint has his or her own two-page spread, with a full-color illustration on one side, and a short (5-7 sentence) story of their life and prayer or "tip" on the other.  There is also a colored box containing the saint's biographical information (years lived, country born and feast day) on each page.  These stories are written very simply with short, to the point sentences and easy to understand words.  I have already used it with the kids (5 and 3) on the Feast of St. Joseph and definitely got a positive response from them.  The only thing I wasn't overly fond of was this book's organization.  The saints are in a random order, as is the index (it is just a list of the saints in the same order they appear in the book), so it makes it really hard to find the story of a particular saint.  I think I will type all the saints/page numbers into an Excel spreadsheet and alphabetize them though, so it's a simple fix to the problem.  All in all I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking to share the stories of the saints with your very young children.  It would make a neat gift for a Feast day or Baptismal anniversary.  

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on My First Book of Saints. The Catholic Company is a great resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special Papal Year of Faith.